Seven Thorns
by Jo-Marie-627886
Summary: A rose is protected by its thorns from the outside world. Like a rose, the world of Sanctuary needs protection. And like a roses thorns, seven hero's will rise to protect what remains of humanity. A story of love, loss and redemption.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Midnight Sneak

A man leaned against a wooden post toward the edge of the encampment. He watched as the other members of his so called, "party" celebrated with the rogues around the fire. He could see Kianna dancing by the fire, her dark red hair spinning as she did and the firelight catching on her skin beautifully, a joyful smile on her face. Others watched the young woman as her feet seemed to kiss the ground for only a moment before moving on. Eventually, she pulled Arvis, the brave leader, up to dance with her. His face turned a light shade of pink from embarrassment and he begun to dance with the girl. Torrar and Devan in their drunken state began laughing at the man's obvious lack of rhythm. Soon enough the two of them began dancing as well, but with the alcohol in their systems they were even worse than Arvis. Nyasia sat on top of a chest, watching with an amused smile as almost everyone began to join in with the dancing.

"Aaron." The man's onyx eyes peered up into the deep brown eyes of his comrade.

"What is it Maiolaine?" He had hoped that staying out of the way would at least keep him out of everyone else's mind.

The younger woman crossed her arms. "Forgive me," she said in a joking tone, "I was just wondering why you were not with the others. Do you really enjoy being alone in the dark that much?"

Aaron sighed and stood up, "It is not that I enjoy being alone, I enjoy being out of sight and out of mind."

He began to walk away, leaving the blond to raise an eyebrow in question. "Isn't that the same as being alone, Aaron?"

She didn't get an answer as he just kept walking away. As he walked, Aaron crossed his arms over his chest and muttered, "I decided not to take a nap. That's how this whole thing started."

XOXOXOXOX

The moon looked down at the land from the night sky as a single man huddled under a tree. The long day of travel had left him exhausted and tired, not to mention all the Fallen he had come across here in the moor. Sleep would not come easily here though, with no tent and enemies lurking about, he could only wrap himself up in his dark cloak and hide in the shadows until morning.

He had just begun to drift to sleep when the sound of footsteps sent him on high alert. His hand that had been resting on his katar tightened around the handle in case it was another enemy. Slowly, he opened his eyes and spotted several women walking not too far away from where he sat.

"Lady Kashya, the demons are becoming stronger and more daring. It won't be long until even the encampment is no longer safe." It was the woman in the front who said this to the one who appeared to be their leader, Kashya.

"Yes, Flavie, I know. We tried to push them back the best we could but you know as well as I do they will only come again. We have found the cave, but their numbers are too great. We need to find a way to lure them out so that we are not overrun like the last time." There was a pause, indicating to their silent audience that they had tried once but failed miserably.

Flavie stopped walking and held her hand in a fist above her heart, "Lady Kashya, I request you let me seek out these demons and let me handle them."

"No." The tone in her leader's voice was enough to let Flavie know it was never going to happen. "I know you want to banish these hell-spawn back to the hell from once they came, but I will not let one of my finest Rogues go and die needlessly. We will find a way to vanquish them, but we must think before barging in recklessly."

The young Rogue scout just looked at the ground and nodded. Feeling ashamed for how out of place she had been. "Yes."

After that, the small group continued on their way to the encampment, leaving their unknown eavesdropper curious. On a whim, the man stood and continued after the group as a safe distance, using the shadows on the ground to blend in if one of them were to turn around. It was times like this he was grateful to have been trained in the ways of assassination.

After about twenty minutes of following them they came to the encampment. Rogues were posted all around the tall wall that had to be at least thirty feet high. Thick stones were piled up in the first ten or so feet of the wall for a sturdy base, the wood was nailed together to form the upper portion of the wall. All the young man could do was wonder what an encampment like this was doing all the way out here. It looked as if they had been there for weeks.

Curiosity getting the better of the young assassin and his nap long forgotten, he decided to get a better look inside the encampment. Not knowing who these people were or anything about them lead him to rely on his stealth once again to enter the camp. He inspected the wall, and the timing of the rouges guarding it. Once he had a good feel of when they would switch positions and pinpointed the best place to scale the wall quickly, he waited.

During the switch of the position he ran quickly and silently along the ground to the wall. With one jump, he was able to get a good foot hold on the rocks and pull himself like a spider up the rest of the way over it. Instead of climbing down, he simply dropped and rolled to soften the fall before checking his surroundings and crouching behind a short rock wall. A wall more for privacy than defense.

"And just who are you?"

The assassin nearly jumped out of his own skin before turning and drawing his katar at the owner of the voice. He was shocked that he had not noticed another person only a few meters away from him. He turned to see a young woman with long white hair brushed over her shoulder and pale skin to match. Icy blue eyes pierced his being as the two locked their gaze on one another. He couldn't make out much else about her since her long black robe hid most of her body but the skull shaped pin holding the top of the rob in place made him suspicious. Not to mention the aura around her had him on edge.

She raised a delicate white brow and asked again, "Who are you? Or can you not speak?"

Seeing that this girl was not going to attack him, he slowly put away his weapon and stood at full height. He noticed she was only a few inches shorter than him. "You give me your name and I'll give you mine."

"Oh, so Mister Claws can speak after all," she teased. "My name is Nyasia, now who might you be?"

Annoyed by her nickname for him he answered her anyway, "Aaron."

Nyasia hummed, "And why were you climbing the wall in the middle of the night, Aaron?"

"If you must know," Aaron began, seeing no reason to hide it now since he had been spotted, "I was simply curious and ended up following a group of women here. I didn't exactly know who they were and didn't want to get shot with an arrow, so I sneaked in, yes. Although, now I need a nap." He concluded that if he was not tired he wouldn't not have been caught.

The woman knew exactly who he was talking about. Kashya, Flavie and their small group of rogues had recently come back from their rounds and were not so happy. She knew that Kasha wouldn't be so happy about another out-lander joining the camp, that is if she didn't decide to get rid of him for trespassing. Though, Aarons truthfulness and ability to sneak in and climb the wall so quickly made her wonder if his skills could be used. With a little persuasion, perhaps the man before her could be used to help the rogues, and ultimately help her in the process. Nyasia nodded, "I see, well then, we should get you a bed." She turned and began walking further into the camp.

Arron looked at her, shock and confusion morphing his handsome features. He caught himself making the strange face and was thankful for the hood he wore. "You are not going to turn me into whoever is in charge?"

She stopped and turned toward him, "At the moment, no. Though, you owe me for this, remember that." She was about to turn around but stopped, "One more thing, put the hood down. It might help people not see you as a threat."

"How do you know I am not a threat?" Aaron questioned.

Nyasia snickered, "Come on, if you were here for a bad reason, you would have just attacked me the first chance you got. And, if you are lying, there are others here that I am sure could take care of you."

Aaron thought for a moment and decided to play along. Reaching up, he pulled back the hood of his cloak to reveal short, messy black hair and a handsome face. His onyx eyes looked at the female with suspicion, curiosity, and a bit of annoyance.

"Now, was that so hard?" She turned and began walking again. Aaron followed her and did his best to keep his senses at high alert, at least for now.

The two walked further into the encampment. Aaron noticed tents and wagons across the camp. He spotted a few rogues along the inside walls, each with a bow and the same uniform. It appears they had indeed been here for a long while, not only were the wagons he could see unloaded, but the ground in places was worn down to dirt from just being walked on. When the two of them reached the middle of the encampment a roaring fire greeted them. Also, there to greet them was a middle-aged man. He was taller than average and wore a turban upon his head along with white and blue clothing that had obviously seen better days. He turned to the two adventurers and smiled. "Nyasia, who is your friend?"

"Aaron," he answered for himself before the woman could say it for him.

"He is new here. This is Warriv, a merchant and Caravan leader." Nyasia pointed out.

Warriv walked forward and help his hand out to the young man. Aaron took it and the two shared a firm handshake. Warriv smiled, he had a fighter's hands. Hands that knew the hilt of a weapon. "Greetings stranger, I'm not surprised to see your kind here. Many adventurers have come this was since the recent trouble began."

The two let each other go before Aaron looked at him curiously, "Troubles? Of what kind?"

The merchant gave him a surprised look, "No doubt you're heard about the tragedy that befell the town of Tristram. Some say that Diablo, the Lord of Terror, walks the world again."

Aaron's eyes widened, "What?" He had indeed been traveling for a while, but he had no idea something like this had happened. He was reluctant to believe it.

"I don't know if I believe that, but a dark wanderer did travel this route a few months ago. He was headed east to the mountain pass guarded by the Rouge Monastery. Maybe it's nothing, but evil seems to have trailed in his wake. You see, shortly after the wanderer went through, the Monastery's Gates to the pass were closed and strange creatures began ravaging the countryside."

"You mean those things out there weren't always here?" He jabbed his thumb toward the entrance of the camp, speaking about the Fallen he had come across during his time in the moor.

The older man shook his head, "not even close to this many. Once in a blue moon a demon or two can find their way into the world, but not like this. Bands of demons have driven the farmers away from their homes and even have been killed. People here, some of them are survivors, others were lucky and got out in time. I do not know of the current situation the rogues protecting the camp are in, but I am sure it is not good. There will to survive is one to be admired."

He nodded and took another look around before returning his gaze to the man before him. Warriv seemed to be a nice trustworthy man. Even though the two of them just met, first impressions go a long way.

Nyasia moved forward and looked at Warriv, "Our new friend needs a place to sleep, would you be willing to let him rest here near you?"

"Not at all," The Merchant turned and looked within his wagon before coming back out and handing Aaron an old bed roll. It wasn't much, but it was better than sleeping on the ground. "You can take this, and in case it starts to rain, feel free to go under the wagon. All the tents are full right now."

Sensing no ill will from the merchant, Aaron took the bed roll and decided to take the offer. Spreading the bed roll beneath the wagon, Aaron laid down on top of it and slept a fitful sleep.

XOXOXOXOX

 _The day grew into night over the small coastal city. Men, tired from their days out at sea, retire into their homes for the night to be with wives and children. Many stores close up shop, only to reopen again in the morning. Taverns stay open, always welcoming new travelers and visitors._

 _Unknown to most of the cities inhabitants, a young boy ran. He had no destination and no idea where he was headed, but he ran as fast as his long legs could carry him. The warm night air brushed past him as he jumped over obstacles and climbed up walls. As he just about reached the top of the wall, only a few feet away from his freedom, a knife lodged itself into the wall next to his head. The boy looked back quickly to see his pursuer looking up at him., knife poised to make the killing blow. He considered the eyes of the man he had once loved and respected like the father he never had, and silently dared him to make a move, fear still evident in his eyes._

 _Then the man did something the boy didn't expect. He slowly lowered the knife and placed it in the sheath on his belt before giving the boy a warning glare. Taking his chance, the boy sprang into action and hauled himself the last few feet over the wall and into the wilderness beyond. He knew at that moment he would never go home again, nor would his life be the same._

* * *

 **A/N (5/15/17) - HOLY SHIT ITS BEEN OVER A YEAR AND A HALF SINCE I WROTE THIS! (O_O)**

 **A/N (9/5/15) - Hello everyone! This is a new story I am starting and I actually got this out sooner than I thought I would. This chapter is pretty simple and short. Though it did reach over 2,500 words! My goal for the next chapter is at least 5,000, but with how much I want to put into it, it could end up being closer to 10,000, possibly. Sorry for any spelling/grammatical errors. I read through it, but I'm human, I'm gonna make a mistake. If you have a question, feel free to message me or leave a review!**

 **Next chapter all the other characters mentioned at the beginning of this chapter will be introduced, plus we're gonna get into the first Quest! WHOOOOOO!**

 **If you are a fan of D2 (I assume you are since you are here) then you should check out the story Wolfheart by AC-107. I honestly fell in love with it and read it all in less than three days. No joke. His story is better written than mine and was the inspiration to this story! If you see they are similar, sorry, but I have my own ideas and plans that are different than his. Still, go check it out if you are a D2 fan, he's got an awesome story that deserves more attention.**

 **That's all for now! See you when I get another chapter done. Bu-bye~!**

 _ **Edited - 5/15/17**_

 _ **Posted - 9/5/15**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  


Rude Awakening

"So, who's the new guy?" Devan asked as she eyed the man asleep under Warriv's wagon. It was early in the morning, shortly before the sun was set to rise and Devan was one of the first to be up. She held a bowl in front of her that contained a pasty gruel. Not the best tasting, but it was edible. Her large honey brown eyes peered over at the figure repeatedly in curiosity. There had not been a newcomer here for about a week or so. Not since the necromancer joined the encampment.

Warriv sighed, "It isn't polite to stare Devan."

The woman's head turned so she could look at the merchant in the eyes. "So? People stare at me and Torrar all the time. What's wrong with staring at him?" There was no doubt in Warriv's mind that the two companions had gotten strange looks wherever they traveled. Even he himself was surprised to see a barbarian and a druid traveling together and getting along so well. The stories he was told about the land of the north depicted the druids and barbarians as cold neighbors. They lived close to one another, but rarely interacted because of the druid's solitary nature. Barbarians on the other hand, they protected their lands and had no problem interacting with the outside world when necessary. Even though their charisma was not the best.

Not to mention the two of them are not what you would expect of northerners when you first met them. Devan was tall for a woman, with a thin and agile body structure and curves to match. Her clothing was created from animal skins of all kinds. Leather boots wrapped around her legs up to her knees and her pants had been tucked into them. A simple brown shirt covered her torso, but what Warriv had first seen her, she had been wearing a leather armor. Her hair was only shoulder length, but messy and uneven, you could tell she cut it herself. On her right ear, she wore an earring where several colorful feathers hung. To protect herself from the cold of the morning she wore a brown bear skin over her shoulders that she often kept with her. Her personality when first meeting her was a bit childish at best. She seemed far too curious and friendly to be from the north. The northern lands turned its inhabitants as cold as its terrain. Devan had asked Warriv many questions about his travels and listened to him like a child.

Torrar was the opposite yet, still like his female companion. He was easily the tallest in the encampment and when it came to muscle, the strongest as well. Torrar was heavily muscled and wore no top so there was nothing left to the imagination. The only thing on his chest was straps that crossed over him to hold his axes on his back, and pale blue tattoos. Plain simple pants and hard leather boots opposed to his friend's soft leather. His attitude towards others was a little rude. He seemed to have no filter and had no idea what modesty was when it came to covering his own body.

Even with the way the two acted there was a dangerous aire about them both. He had no seen either of them fight, but from the way they moved and knowing where they are from he could assume that they were deadly when provoked.

The merchant's logic confused Devan. If other people could do it, why couldn't she? Just as she got another spoon of gruel into her mouth she saw her friend Torrar exiting from the tent they shared with a few other people. She waved to him, though to most it looked like she had been flailing her arm around wildly.

Torrar waved back in a less sporadic manner than her and sat next to her on the ground, also grabbing a bowl of the food from the pot near the dying fire. Warriv again sighed. He did not mind the company of the two, or anyone in the camp really, but the way these two took food as if it were their own was something he wasn't used to. Warriv let it slide though. He understood that in the north meals were usually shared and people took without asking.

By the time the two northerners were done eating Kianna joined them by the fire. Unlike the other two, Kianna asked politely if she could have some before digging in herself. Instead of sitting on the ground, she sat on top of a chest Warriv had set out of his wagon. She didn't like getting grass or bugs in her skirt, or getting it dirty needlessly. Even though she had shorts on under her skirt, she didn't like getting it dirty.

Devan looked at the young sorceress and asked, "Hey, Kianna, we have a new guy in camp. Does he look funny to you?" She pointed at the man still sleeping under Warriv's wagon.

The redheaded sorceress peered over to where the man lay on the ground and silently thought about how she didn't even notice him. She must have been more tired than she thought. "He looks fine to me. Just sleeping. Why do you say he looks funny?" Her soft voice questioned her, seeing nothing out of the ordinary about him.

"He's wearing all black. I think it's weird." Devan was used to people wearing colors along with black. Even Nyasia had some grey on under that rob of hers. Also, for a man with black hair he was pale. It didn't look bad, it was just different. She thought a similar thing when she met the necromancer. Nyasia's coloration was the lightest she had ever seen, pale skin, white hair, and ice blue eyes.

Kianna looked over at the man again and saw him fidget and roll over, but didn't wake up. Since day light had begun to brighten up the encampment, she walked over to him to wake him up. He shouldn't sleep too much longer or else there would be no more food for him. As she walked closer to him she noticed that his face was twisted in a painful expression, as if he were suffering a nightmare. Without thinking, Kianna decided to wake him up by lightly pushing on his shoulder with her hand. She quickly learned that was a bad idea.

Aaron's eyes shot open in an instant. His body went on high alert and he did what his body was trained to do. He grabbed Kianna by the arm so she couldn't jump away and put his katar to her neck, ready to kill her if she made a wrong move.

Kianna shrieked before staying very still. When you have a blade to your neck you know moving is a stupid thing to do. Her violet eyes looked into his and she got even more scared. They were filled with hatred. She knew it wasn't hatred for her, it had to be for whoever he had been dreaming about.

The two stayed in a stair down for several long moments before a pale hand rested on Aaron's hand holding the blade to Kianna's neck. "That's enough," Nyasia stated calmly.

The young assassin blinked, and his eyes were no longer filled with hate or anger, but surprise. He quickly took in his surroundings before taking his weapon away from Kianna's neck and sheathing it. He got out from under the wagon and as he did so, whispered an apology to the sorceress.

Kianna scrambled to her feet and nodded, not able to verbally reply. She looked Aaron up and down, suspicion clear in her eyes. Her father had taught her to be weary of people who wielded katars or any other claw-class weapon. As the two looked at each other her father's words echoed in the back of her mind, "Never trust an assassin. They hunt corrupt sorcerers, but you never know when they might be told to hunt you. An order is an order."

It was then that Aaron noticed the state of everyone around them. Nyasia was behind Kianna arms crossed with a stoic expression on her face. A tall woman dressed in pelts was crouched like an animal ready to pounce, hand on her waist where a club sat She glared dangerously, as if daring him to give her a reason to attack. A well-built bald man glared at him as well. He already had his weapon drawn. Warriv had taken a step back and was now looking between Aaron and the others wondering if there was going to be a fight right there in camp.

"What happened?"

All eyes turned to a short yet very sturdy man. His hair was blond and short. He had a well-kept beard that was just a few shades darker than the rest of his hair. His hair was messy, as if he had just woken up. The clothing he wore made that theory more likely. A short sword was in his hands, one hand on the hilt, the other on the sheath. His blue eyes scanned the group carefully, easily finding the one that didn't belong.

He was about to say something when another blond joined them. She was a tall woman compared to the man she literally pushed out of her way. Her long blond hair was the color of hay and it flowed like silk ribbons around her as she rushed to Kianna. Her slender but course fingers gripped her friends much more delicate hands. "Kianna! I heard you scream." Dark brown eyes peered into her violet ones, "What happened?"

Kianna looked around, eyes wide, and took her hands away from her friend's tight grip. "Maiolaine, I'm fine, don't worry." She said the last bit loud enough to make sure everyone heard if they couldn't already.

The blond man walked over to Aaron, eyeing him suspiciously the entire time as he did. He put his hand out to shake as said, "The name's Arvis, and you are?"

Aaron eyed the man just as suspiciously. He took Arvis' hand in a firm hold, "Aaron."

Arvis opened his mouth to ask a question as the two ended their hand shake but Nyasia interrupted him, "Don't bother asking. Kashya will demand to know and we will have to sit through it a second time."

Arvis looked at the necromancer and raised a thick brow, "And just how do you know what I was going to say?"

She shrugged, "Call it women's intuition."

Arvis sighed and shook his head. Even though she had a point, he couldn't get over how the necromancer nonchalantly got everything the way she wanted. It was like she already knew what was going to happen. Although, in his realm of knowledge there was no magic that could do such a thing, so he settled on women's intuition.

Not a moment later, a loud commanding voice called out over the small crowd, "What's going on here?" All heads turned to see Kashya dressed in her iconic armor. Her face was stoic and the three rogues that trailed behind her gave a nice touch.

Nyasia was unfazed by the woman's penetrating gaze. She glanced over the group and found that only Aaron was as unaffected as she was. His black eyes held a hint of curiosity while his face was as blank as ever. When no one decided to speak up, from just not wanting to or not knowing what to say she didn't know, so Nyasia decided to speak, "Well, good morning, Kashya."

Kashya's gaze zeroed in on Nyasia and glared at her lack of respect. She decided that wasn't the issue now and decided to walk toward Aaron instead. When she was only a foot away from him she placed her hands on her hips and asked the question on everyone's mind, "Who are you and why are you here?"

Aaron looked at Kashya who was about the same height as he was. He sighed, wishing that he could have just ignored the women last night. He cursed his curiosity, he should know better than this. "Aaron." He paused, "I was bored."

Kashya wasn't satisfied with his response and turned to the group, "Why was I not informed?" Everyone knew that if there was a new comer to the camp that they were supposed to report them to her immediately.

Nyasia shrugged, "He wasn't causing any trouble, so I didn't see a problem with it."

Kashya once again glared at the necromancer now knowing that she didn't inform her. She looked back at Aaron again and, "How did you get passed my rogues?" She knew that her rogues would have informed her immediately if they noticed anything and since they did not that means he was able to slip through their defenses.

"I went over the wall." He received a blank look from the woman, clearly meaning he didn't believe her. He chuckled, "It really wasn't that hard," he began, "I waited to see when the rotation took place and studied the wall for the easiest spot to climb. When the rotation began, I ran for the wall, climbed it, and tumbled down on the other side easily. That's when she found me." He jabbed a finger behind him at Nyasia.

"And just why were you going over the walls?" Kashya demanded to know.

"I was bored."

"Kashya, he has caused no trouble, and I sense no hospitality from this young man." All heads turned to see the owner of the aged voice. A woman who looked to be in her early fifties walked over. She wore a long purple robe that reached the ground. Beneath that, a long black gown with long sleeves. The hood of her robe was pulled over her head, putting her face in a shadow and hiding her greying black hair. Hey dark eyes studied Aaron, though the way that she did was friendlier than Kashya's.

Kashya bowed her head and moved back so that she had room to confront the young man. The rest of the group watched in curiosity. They wanted to know what was going to happen. Would he be kicked out? Or would the elderly woman welcome him in?

Akara moved forward gracefully. It looked like she wasn't even walking, just levitating over the ground. Once she was just a few steps away from Aaron, she gave him a small smile and spoke, "I am Akara, High Priestess of the sisterhood of the Sightless Eye. I welcome you traveler to our camp. Forgive Kashya, we have all been under great stress in these dark times."

Aaron's curiosity was once again peaked, "Dark times? What has happened?"

He saw Kashya glare at him harder. He assumed it was because he didn't show respect in his words to the priestess. He also noticed Arvis also glared at him a little, but more annoyance than anger was in his gaze.

Akara sighed long and slowly, as if what she was about to say was hard for her to do. Even though she had known about this for so long now. All the others nearby listened in as well. All of them, other than Aaron, had all heard of the Rogues troubles as of late and made the trek here to aid them. Although, when they arrived here, Kashya was certain they could handle it on their own, but they all helped when they could. They helped erect the wall to help protect them all, and helped to kill demons that got too close. But, Kashya never once told them about what was really going on, and Akara was nearly always busy tending to the weak and sick. Now was a perfect opportunity to hear what was really happening behind the scenes.

"You see," Akara began, "Our ancient sisterhood has fallen under a strange curse. The mighty Citadel from which we have guarded the gates to the East for generations, has been corrupted by the evil Demoness, Andariel." She shook her head, as if trying to shake the memories of that day from her mind, "I still can't believe it... but she turned many of our sister Rogues against us and drove us from our ancestral home. Now, the last defenders of the sisterhood are either dead, or scattered throughout the wilderness. I implore you, all of you," she swept her gaze over all the travelers, "please help us."

"Lady Akara, I must object!"

Before Kashya could say another word, Akara interrupted her, "No, you will not, Kashya. Too many have died already, we cannot let prideful actions cloud our judgment. We have done all we can. It is plain to see that we are fighting a battle we cannot win on our own."

Kashya looked at the ground, face twisted with conflicted emotions. She knew better than anyone that they needed help, but she didn't want to. It was a blow to her own pride. This was their problem, they should be able to fix it! Not a moment later, she turned and walked off away from the small crowd. The rogues she had come in with watched her go and didn't know whether to follow or not.

Akara sighed sadly, "Kashya has a good heart, but her pride and honor can sometimes cloud her judgment. In time, she will know what is best and accept what help is given to us. Will you help us?"

Devan stood and stretched, "Well, I'm up for a challenge! What about you Torrar?" She placed her hand on top of her friend's bald head and leaned on him since he was sitting.

The barbarian didn't seem to mind how she used him as a stand. He smirked, "I'll never turn one down. Count me in too, Priestess."

Kianna smiled, "I'll do what I can to help as well."

"If Kianna's helping, so will I." The amazon stepped forward, placing her hand on her companion's shoulder.

Arvis placed his fist to his chest and bowed, "As I stated the day I arrived, I will help any way I can."

Both Aaron and Nyasia said nothing. The assassin wasn't sure if there was anything in this for himself that was worth the risk. Although, if what Akara said is true, then the entire world could be doomed.

"Unfortunately, I came here for my own purpose." All heads looked to Nyasia. She stood still, arms crossed. "If my own duties cross with yours, so be it, but until that time, I will do what I came to do."

Aaron raised a thin brow skeptically, "Really, and what might that be?"

"You will find out in time, young-ling." Nyasia turned and walked off toward the tent she had been assigned, "I wish you all luck with your tasks."

His face visibly twitched in annoyance. 'Young-ling?' There was no doubt in his mind that he was older than her by several years! She looked no older than twenty, while Aaron was in his twenty-fourth year.

"What of you?" Akara addressed him, taking his eyes off the retreating form of the necromancer. "Will help us?"

"What's in it for me?" It was a selfish thing to ask, he knew, but he still wanted to know.

As he suspected, his comment had a few pairs of eyes glaring at him. Akara only nodded in understanding. It was easy to understand that not everyone wanted to help out of the good of their hearts. There were the people who only did something if there was a reward. "We have nothing to offer you but poor shelter within these rickety walls, but there is bound to be treasures in the wilderness just waiting to be found."

He nodded before he asked the question on everyone's mind. "And, what exactly, would you have us do?"

Silence filled the air before Akara once again began to speak. "There is a place of great evil in the wilderness. Kashya's rogue scouts have informed me that a cave nearby is filled with shadowy creatures and horrors from beyond the grave. I fear that these creatures are massing for an attack against our encampment. If you are sincere about helping us, find the dark labyrinth and destroy the foul beasts."

"Finally, something really exiting!" Devan cheered happily.

* * *

 **A/N (5/15/17) - Hey! It's been a while! So, a lot of details have changed, but I kept the same basic concept.**

 **A/N (10/16/15) - Hello everyone!**

 **So this chapter is not as long as I wanted, because I wanted to get something out there for ya. School has taken up A LOT of my time, and I didn't want to take forever to get something out. So here it is! I'm basically splitting what I had for chapter two into two separate chapters.**

 **Lots of characters in this chapter, but I'll do my best to keep them all distinct as time goes on. They all have their own roll to play and I can't wait to get into their backstories! So excited!**

 **Tell me what you think! I'd love to know!**

 _ **Edited - 5/15/17**_

 _ **Posted - 10/16/15**_


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  


Inner Conflict

"Hey! Wait up!"

The small group turned their heads to see Devan chasing after them. Torrar laughed, "Finally get that greedy Gheed off your tail?"

She gave him an annoyed glance before looking at the others, "Gheed heard about us going to do this and was trying to sell me a sword. He kept saying things like, "For just a small fee, I'll give you this amazing one of a kind short sword. Much better than a clud." I swear, that guy will do anything for money."

Maiolaine and Arvis sighed. They knew that all too well.

"Have you tried telling him you're broke?" Kianna asked curiously.

"Yup, several times." She switched to a voice to try and imitate the merchant, "Oh, that's all right, because you're risking your life for all of us, I'll lower the price!"

Arvis chuckled at her impression, she wasn't too far off. It made him wonder if she did that in her spare time. "He tends to over price things a great deal and talks people into believing that they are amazing, once in a life time

The druid sighed, "I'm just glad to be away from that." Her brown eyes swept over the group again, "Hey, where's Nyasia and Mr. Serious?"

"No one's seen them since this morning." Maiolaine answered. "Nysia wasn't going to join us anyway, and Aaron seemed to vanish shortly after she went off on her own."

Kianna added in, "But, there are enough of us here, we should be able to handle the cave just fine." She was actually rather relieved that Aaron had not joined them. The incident that morning didn't upset her at all, it was the fact he was an assassin. Claw-class weapons were hard to come across, and usually you would find one in the hand of an assassin more than anyone else. It also takes a lot of training to learn how to properly wield one, and Aaron had whipped it out as though he had been doing it for years. She remembered when she was a little girl, an older boy found one in the temple they lived in and tried to imitate an assassin. He had trouble even figuring out how to hold it properly.

"Yes, we should be just fine," Arvis began, "but things could still go wrong. You should never be too comfortable with a situation."

They all nodded in agreement or understanding before continuing on. They would spot a Fallen or two every now and then. Maiolaine made quick work of them with her bow since they showed themselves in small numbers. The few zombies they came across were a little more difficult. One arrow wasn't enough for them. Arvis, Devan and Torrar dealt with them as they went. Zombies were slow and mindless creatures, so hitting them and dodging their attacks was not a problem. The things that gave them the most trouble were quill-fiends. They traveled in small groups and would shoot their quills at them from the small bushes and shrubs they liked to hide in. Kianna learned quickly that the beasts were not a fan of fire. Their quills were coated in an oil-like substance that made them catch fire rather easily.

After several hours of searching for the cave, they came across one at last. There was no grass around the entrance, it had been walked on so much that the grass had died and left nothing but dry dirt. Arvis approached the entrance of the cave first. He nearly gagged at the smell, rotting flesh and death were only two things he smelled. He noticed a pentagram on the wall drawn in blood and he was certain this was the cave they were looking for.

Torrar was the first to make his way down into the dark cave. He was itching to get into a fight and so pushed his way to the front of the group. The things they had run into so far were weak and easily dealt with. He wanted something that was a challenge. Following behind him was Arivs, Devan, Kianna, and Maiolaine taking the rear.

"Kianna," Arvis whispered behind him, "light."

She nodded in the darkness even though she knew he couldn't see her and placed her hand over the top of her staff. Whispering a small incantation, she removed her hand and the stop of her staff shined, lighting up the small corridor with light.

As the group descended through the dark cave they could see proof of inhabitants in the cave. Ahead of them they could hear the demonic language spoken by the Fallen. None of them understood it, but they all had heard the Fallen in the moor speak it.

Torrar's steps fell lightly on the earth beneath him. He surprised Arvis with how light he could be on his feet, hardly making a sound. He did not want to alert these things that they were coming yet, and the others could sense his change in pace and changed theirs to match. The barbarian paused just a few feet from the opening into a corridor. He had no idea how many there were, but he hoped there were many. It had been some time since he had been in a large battle.

With no warning, Torrar rushed out into the corridor, face to face with a horde of Fallen. The barbarian stared into the bleak, burning eyes of the monsters before him. Even faced with a titanic sea of hundreds of red demons, wielding shabby blades of iron and shields of steel, Torrar didn't so much as blink. Both the titanic warrior and the monstrous gathering of monsters stood motionless for the moment, the horde's barbarous gibberish echoing like the scraping of nails on glass. Their chatter grew, reaching a crescendo, before being eclipsed by Torrar's mighty roar.

In a scene that would petrify any creature with a shred of fear in its heart, he rushed the wall of devils in a blitz of excitement. The dual axes whirled through the air, thick arms rigid with muscle. The first poor, unfortunate Fallen he reached attempted to deflect the blow rather than evade. The axe cleaved through the sword, and into the monster's spine. Keeping his massive momentum in motion, the barbarian continued to carve a swath through the monsters, practically cackling with joy.

The initial thrill of battle had him squirming inside, but it soon became more work than entertainment. The pitiful monsters could hardly lift a finger against him. He was too large for them to get inside and find an angle on him, and too powerful to defend against. They gave Torrar plenty of space to operate, and though they had him encircled none were near brave enough at this point to make a big move. Torrar was just finally feeling the dull twinge of boredom, when a sudden deep-orange light from the dark throat of the cavern drew his attention. From where he stood, the glowing orb looked like nothing more than a burning stick of tobacco in the darkness. But as he looked, it began to glow brighter, and bigger. Just when he began to wonder how much brighter it would get, the ball of light flared like a sudden spark. A half-second later, any hair Torrar had slowly growing on the top of his head was singed by a speeding fireball.

The blood in his veins turned to ice when Arvis watched Torrar rush ahead so boldly. The last thing he had wanted going into this was for the group to be separated. The paladin had called out, demanding that he come back and stay close, but the mountain of a man had not even lead on whether he heard or not. Arvis dashed ahead, armor clacking with each step, but stealth didn't matter now, or so he thought for a moment. He looked behind himself, seeing the face of Devan, her eyes wide and teeth clenched. In the light of Kianna's staff, he also took notice of his other companions running in step behind him through the long hallway and into the corridor. It was when he looked back ahead that he ground his rushed advance to a skidding halt.

From further down the tunnel, Arvis saw a large, group of grotesque Fallen moving at a rapid rate toward him, their chattering, abhorrent voices becoming suddenly deafening. Acting quickly, he brought his shield up and rushed the fallen, cutting one down easily by slashing its chest open. Arvis was able to see Torrar swinging madly against the massive onslaught of the group of Fallen. He appeared annoyed, angry, and about to be overrun.

Determination setting in, Arvis made a mighty shove with his iron shield, knocking a Fallen off balance, before plunging the point of his blade through its skull. The other demons suddenly backed off, stricken at the loss of their fallen companion and fearful for their lives in that instant. With fire in his eyes and thunder in his voice, Arvis ordered the other party members to form up and make a push to bail Torrar out of the mess. Then, reflexively, the Paladin raised his shield in reaction to the ball of fire hurtling towards him. The blow of the ember knocked him off his feet, and he grunted in pain as he landed in a heap on the cold ground. He looked up to see, behind the horde, the malicious grin of a Shaman, cackling amid the chaos. As it seemed to dance and wave its staff, a bright light came from it, though this was different from when it was tossing around fireballs. He didn't have time to think about it too much because a Fallen swung its blade at him. On reflex he rolled away, narrowly missing the potentially deadly blow.

Maiolaine stood in the back near the wall, her keen eyes scanning the frenzy before her. She put an arrow into any Fallen getting to close to her comrades. Already she had saved the still surrounded Torrar three times from an unseen Fallen about to stab him in the back. This fight was putting her skills with the bow to good use, it had been quite some time since she had to shoot her arrows so fast and frequently. A small part of her was worried about the number of arrows she had left, but she pushed the thought aside, she would cross that bridge when it came to her.

Kianna stood in the back as well, not too far away from Maiolaine. As she shot fire into the mass of Fallen she tried wrapping her mind around why the flow of them never seemed to lessen. When she lived in the temple she read books on the demons and horrific creatures of the world and tried to recall what she had read about the fallen. She knew they liked to stay in big groups, overpowering stronger opponents with their numbers.

"Mai!" Kianna shouted to her friend as she remembered the crucial detail. "The Shaman in the back, kill them. They are resurrecting the others!" The Fallen were indeed weak demons and not too much trouble to deal with since they were not skilled. Even Torrar had an idea of what was happening since no matter how many he killed, they just continued to come at him. The amazon nodded to her friend and took aim at the Shaman, but there was a problem. This Shaman was smart, it chose to stay far in the back behind the other Fallen. It seemed to sense that she was trying to aim at it, so it positioned itself so that her own companions blocked her view. She cursed and fired at more Fallen, keeping her eye on the Shaman for an opportunity to strike.

Just as Arvis was getting up, a brown figure jumped over him and kicked a Fallen in the head, breaking its neck. The paladin continued to get up, whispering a small thank you before continuing to hack and slash at the demons. Devan jumped, twisted, and turned through the chaos gracefully. Like a dance that she practiced often. She kicked and struck with her club with movements of a person who had years of experience. The sickening crack of skulls was so much more appealing to her than the slash of a sword slicing through flesh. She made her way over to her friend and pushed her back against his. He only looked behind himself for a split second, the only one who fought with him this way was Devan. She always had his back, even if he didn't think he needed it. "So, buddy," she said while smashing her club into another Fallen, "what's the trouble?"

"Like you don't know." He grunted before his ax flung one of the demons back into the horde. "twenty-four," he said just as he killed another. Even though he probably killed the same one several times, he still counted it.

"Fifteen!" Devan shouted, just as she was about to hit another. But before she could, a fireball hit her and knocked her back. Devan scrambled to put out the fire that had ignited on her chest before it could burn her. She hatted fire magic with a passion, she wasn't even a fan of Kianna using it. While she was distracted, a Fallen came up behind her and slashed at her legs. The thick hide pants she wore protected her from the wound being serious, but it still stung. The triumphant cackle of the Fallen behind her didn't last long however, Torrar aimed and hit his head with his ax.

Torrar stood above her, guarding her from the oncoming Fallen, "Can you stand?" He looked down at his female companion and noticed her convulsing on the ground, face scrunched in pain. He knew what was happening and all he could do was protect her as he waited for it to pass. He only hoped she could control it unlike the last time.

The fighting continued until Maiolaine was finally able to put an arrow right through the Shaman's head. It had gotten cocky and decided to come out of its hiding place in the dark. As it did, Maiolaine was easily able to strike. Now that the fallen could not be resurrected their numbers diminished, but before they were completely gone, a loud roar resonated through the cave. The sound was loud and feral, obviously belonging to something large. The Fallen still in the battle started to panic and ran away deeper into the cave, scared of what was heading their way.

The group stood still, weapons ready to strike the creature they could hear approaching them from one of the tunnels. Torrar stood in front of the druid, turning his head back and whispering harshly, "Get up!" All he got in response was a low groan.

Out of the darkness a large Wendigo appeared. It's large size and grotesque features made it a frightening sight. The large creature lunged forward loudly, freakishly large hands reaching out to grab the intruders.

Maiolaine unleashed several arrows, all sticking into the beast's flesh. This only seemed to enrage the Wendigo even further. It tried to strike at Arvis, but he was prepared and easily dodged. Seeing an opening the paladin twirled around, flashing his sword along the beast's large hand. This made the beast screech and flail again, but before he had a chance to attack a second time the sorceress shot a fireball directly into the Wendigo's face.

Torrar watched the fight with interest, watching the Wendigo closely to learn how they fought. Usually he would just rush in for the thrill, but not when Devan was in this state. He was about to lunge forward after the fireball hit, but he suddenly noticed that Devan had stopped moaning. He turned around and saw that Devan was slowly getting to her feet, head down. Once she was on her feet she looked up and Torrar cursed when he noticed her pupils were dilated and the usually happy and optimistic demeanor was gone.

Her gaze locked onto the Wendigo who still had small flames in its fur. Torrar turned to Arvis, "Arvis, get back!"

Arvis stopped and looked back at the Barbarian only to see Devan rush forward, no weapon in her hand. Normally, he would have ignored the command, but an eerie feeling settled over him so he decided to jump backwards away from the beast.

The group watched as Devan ran at the Wendigo and swiped her hand across its face. Everyone except Torrar was shocked to see that Devan had claws like an animal. The Wendigo shrieked and roared at Devan, swinging its massive hands at her. Devan dodged easily until she suddenly used her claws to latch onto the beast's arm. Using that as leverage she swung her legs over herself and landed on top of the Wendigo's shoulders. The Wendigo went crazy, flinging its body around trying to shack the human off of itself, but to no avail.

Devan had a crazed smile on her face as she started to claw at the Wendigo's neck. Blood covered her hands as the Wendigo thrashed and screamed, slowly losing its energy as its blood flowed freely out of the gaping holes in its neck. After a few minutes the beast fell to the ground. Devan stood up on top of the dying Wendigo and looked at her hands that were covered in blood.

The group stood back, shock written all over their faces. They never expected Devan to go crazy on them. Maiolaine took up her bow and pointed it at her in warning. Torrar noticed and held up a hand to motion her to halt. "Devan…" He said her name, trying to bring her back to her senses. He remembered the last time this happened and it ended in him having to knock her unconscious. He hoped enough time had passes she would be able to get back on her own.

Devan suddenly lunged forward at the Barbarian. She didn't recognize him as a friend, she only saw him as something to kill, a threat. Torrar held up his axes and held the blunt ends up in the shape of an "X". Devan knocked him off his feet with the force and all Torrar did was hold her back above him. The group started to run forward but Torrar yelled at them to stay back.

Devan could get around Torrar's defenses and bite down on the Barbarian's arm. With her canines elongated she could bite through the armor he wore on his arms. Torrar grimaced, dropping his axes and gripping her neck with his free hand.

Suddenly, Devan's eyes widened, and the thrashing she had been doing stopped. Slowly before everyone's eyes her nails began to change back to normal and she let go of Torrar's arm. Torrar was relieved to see her eyes changing back.

Her hands gripped her head, shaking it from side to side as if to clear it. Devan cursed, "It happened again, dammit."

Arvis stepped forward as the two were getting back to their feet. His sword was held in his hand, ready to attack just in case something was to happen again. "What the hell was all of that?" He demanded to know.

Torrar held Devan by her arms, holding her up, "She is back in control now, you can relax your weapon." He was looking at the short sword in the paladin's hand.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Devan said to them all honestly.

Kiana walked forward to stand next to Arvis, "Devan, what was that? You went totally berserk, like an animal."

Devan sighed, "If you must know, I don't have control over my wolf yet."

"Your wolf?" Arvis questioned.

Torrar answered for her, "Every druid has an inner animal that they learn to control. Devan's is a wolf, and she doesn't have the proper control over it yet. When she is in certain situations it can trigger the transformation. Once she learns to control it, this shouldn't happen anymore."

"Yeah," Devan nodded, "Although, since I wasn't raised, or trained, by another druid I need to figure it out on my own."

Arvis nodded, "I see." This of course opened up many questions about the druid but he knew they didn't have time to go through it right now. It was only a matter of time before even more monsters come from the depths of the cave. "Can you walk?" He asked Devan.

"Yeah," she told him before getting to her feet, "I won't be able to fight as good though. This is gonna slow me down."

Arvis stepped forward and inspected her wounds. There was a bleeding gash that ran across the back of both of her thighs. It wasn't a deadly wound, but it would hurt for a while. He stood, thinking of a solution. "Alright, we will continue on through the cave and clear the place out. Devan, stay toward the back and only fight if needed. I get the feeling we have only cleared out a fraction of the demons down here."

They nodded in agreement before Kianna wrapped Devan's legs to slow the bleeding. Torrar refused to have her look at him and insisted her attention stay on Devan. Once Devan's legs were wrapped the group moved on.

* * *

 **A/N (5/16/17) - Lots of stuff has been changed and tweaked in this chapter.**

 **A/N (12/28/15) - Hey everybody!**

 **It's been a while and I wanted to get something out there. Good thing is, I'm on break! Yeah! If not for the break I wouldn't have been able to get this out.**

 **Tell me what you think! I'd love to know!**

 _ **Edited - 5/16/17**_

 _ **Posted - 12/28/15**_


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